Peace officers: confidentiality of records.

Removed a court consideration requirement in Section 832.7(b)(6)(D) that would have directed courts, in actions to compel disclosure, to consider whether a particular peace officer is currently operating undercover and their duties demand anonymity when determining if a safety-based redaction is appropriate.

Consolidated two separate sections (SEC. 2 and SEC. 2.1) that both amended Penal Code Section 832.7 into a single Section 2 in the enrolled version, likely merging the conditional incorporation of AB 1178 and AB 1388 changes into the main text.

Removed all line numbers, page headers, legislative amendment history dates, and coauthor credits; added Assembly passage date (September 13, 2025), Senate passage date (September 12, 2025), and Governor receipt block in standard enrolled bill format.

Added Senator Arreguin as a coauthor, reflecting Senate sponsorship of the bill.

New Section 2.1 adds an alternative version of Penal Code Section 832.7 that removes civilian oversight boards and commissions from the exception in subdivision (a). Under this version, the confidentiality of officer personnel records would apply to investigations conducted by civilian oversight boards, unless access is specifically granted through other provisions (such as the Government Code amendments in Section 1 of the bill). This alternative only takes effect if AB 847 is enacted after AB 1178 or AB 1388.

The legislative counsel digest was updated to describe the conditional incorporation of changes proposed by AB 1178 and AB 1388, clarifying that they are operative only if this bill is enacted last among the competing measures.

The standard for redacting an officer's identity based on safety concerns now requires a court to consider whether the officer is 'currently operating undercover' AND their duties demand anonymity, rather than only considering whether their duties demand anonymity. This narrows the exception by adding a present-tense operational requirement.

Multiple typo corrections throughout: 'used the force' changed to 'used force', 'used the use of force' changed to 'use of force', duplicate word 'conduct conduct' reduced to 'conduct', and 'which that does not identify' corrected to 'that does not identify'.

Amendment date updated from September 5, 2025 to September 9, 2025, with the prior date retained as a secondary line in the amendment history.

Replaced legislative passage metadata (Assembly/Senate passage dates, clerk signatures, blank Governor receipt date) with the chaptered format header including 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL,' chapter number 383, and the Governor's approval and filing date of October 6, 2025.

Oversight board record access was broadened from records specifically relating to citizen complaints under Penal Code Section 832.5 to any personnel records 'required for the performance of the commission's oversight duties,' giving boards a wider functional standard for accessing officer files.

Inspector general record access was similarly broadened from citizen complaint records under Section 832.5 to records 'required for the performance of the inspector general's oversight duties.'

The phrase 'Notwithstanding Sections 1043 and 1046 of the Evidence Code' was removed from both the oversight board and inspector general access provisions, eliminating the explicit override of those evidence code discovery limitations.

Bill summary language was clarified to read 'relating or to related proceedings' instead of 'relating proceedings,' and the description of oversight board activities was restructured for clarity.

Section 25303.7(a)(3) now includes the phrase 'the commission's oversight duties' after the existing language about access to personnel records, though the text contains a drafting error with a duplicated 'the' and an incomplete sentence structure.

Section 25303.7(c)(3) similarly adds 'the inspector general's oversight duties' after the inspector general's personnel records access language, with the same drafting errors present.

Page numbers corrected from 97 to 96 throughout the document, and a redundant standalone 'SECTION 1.' line was removed before Section 2.

The bill now amends Penal Code Section 832.7 in addition to Section 26, expanding its scope from a technical criminal law cleanup to a police records transparency measure.

Adds civilian law enforcement oversight boards or commissions as entities that can access confidential personnel records of peace officers and custodial officers during investigations or proceedings concerning officer conduct.

Makes non-confidential and subject to public inspection: records involving firearm discharge at a person, use of force resulting in death or great bodily injury, sustained findings of unreasonable or excessive force, failure to intervene against clearly unreasonable force, sexual assault by officers against the public, dishonesty in crime reporting or misconduct investigations, prejudice or discrimination based on protected characteristics, and unlawful arrests or searches.

Specifies that releasable records include all investigative reports, photographic/audio/video evidence, interview transcripts or recordings, autopsy reports, materials presented to district attorneys for charging decisions, disciplinary findings, and letters of intent to impose discipline.

Limits redaction of disclosed records to: personal data (home address, phone, family identities), whistleblower/complainant/victim/witness anonymity, confidential medical or financial information prohibited by federal law, and situations where disclosure poses a specific articulable danger to physical safety.

Sets a 45-day deadline for agencies to provide records subject to disclosure after a request is made.

Allows agencies to delay disclosure during active criminal investigations for up to 60 days initially, extendable with written justification at 180-day intervals, capped at 18 months from the incident date. Administrative investigation delays are capped at 180 days.

Defines 'sexual assault' as commission or attempted initiation of a sexual act with a member of the public by means of force, threat, coercion, extortion, offer of leniency or other official favor, or under color of authority, including propositioning while on duty. Defines 'member of the public' as any person not employed by the officer's agency, including youth program participants.

Requires agencies to provide written notification to complaining parties within 30 days of complaint disposition, and permits agencies to voluntarily disclose termination for cause without a request.

The original technical changes to Section 26 (reformatting numbered classes into lettered subdivisions, minor grammatical fixes) are retained but renumbered as Section 2 of the bill.

The amendment to Penal Code Section 26 (technical, nonsubstantive changes to the list of people legally incapable of committing crimes) was removed entirely from the bill.

A new section amending Government Code Section 25303.7 was added, allowing counties to create civilian sheriff oversight boards and offices of the inspector general to assist the board of supervisors with duties relating to the sheriff.

A county inspector general, if established, has independent authority to issue subpoenas and access the same personnel records as the oversight board, subject to the same confidentiality obligations.

Sheriff oversight board members are appointed by the board of supervisors, with one designated as chairperson. The board is comprised of civilians.

The sheriff oversight board and inspector general are granted access to personnel records of peace officers and custodial officers relating to citizen complaints, notwithstanding Evidence Code Sections 1043 and 1046, but must maintain confidentiality consistent with Penal Code Section 832.7.

The sheriff oversight board may conduct closed sessions consistent with Government Code Section 54957 to review confidential records, provided those sessions comply with applicable confidentiality laws including Penal Code Section 832.7.

The exercise of oversight powers by the board of supervisors, sheriff oversight board, or inspector general shall not be considered obstruction of the sheriff's investigative functions.

The chair of the sheriff oversight board (or authorized deputy) may issue subpoenas or subpoena duces tecum to examine witnesses, county officers, and documents relating to the sheriff's department. Non-compliance is subject to contempt proceedings in superior court.